The 13th Warrior *** (out of five stars) A review by Jamey Hughton
Starring-Antonio Banderas,Vladimir Kulich, Dennis Storhoi, Diane Venora and Omar Sharif Director-John McTiernan Rated 18A
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As a late summer action/adventure entry, The 13th Warrior didn't look promising. The production was delayed, reshoots were rumored, and the film sat on the shelf for many months. There was also a feud between director John McTiernan and author Michael Chricton, and the title was changed from Eaters of the Dead (the original name of Chricton's novel) to The 13th Warrior. Despite all of the apparent problems, the finished product is a rousing sword-play epic with impressive battle sequences off-setting some laughable dialogue and a non-existent plot.
Antonio Banderas was the hero of last summer's The Mask of Zorro, and here he attempts to duplicate his success. Banderas plays an Arab ambassador named Ahmed Ibn Fadlan, who is sent out to learn the ways of the Vikings. He stumbles into their society in just the nick of time. A messenger arrives, informing the warriors that his people have requested their help in fending off a group of oncoming attackers. But these attackers are not human. They are the Wendol - half-man, half-bear savages who carry torches and destroy everything in their path. A thirteen man defense team is dispatched, and Fadlan unwillingly becomes one of the warriors on the dangerous mission.
What I've described is essentially the entire plot of The 13th Warrior. What remains is a series of spectacular (and very gory) combat battles, in which the Vikings attempt to defend neighboring tribes from the group of beasts who decapitate their victims in very messy ways. Don't be deceived when this gets off to a terribly rocky start. When McTiernan brings out the big guns (so to speak), everything becomes easier to swallow. The battle scenes are well-edited, consistently exciting, and always accompanied by the marvelous score by Jerry Goldsmith. The intellectual aspects of the film are poorly handled, but the technical credits and gorgeous landscapes practically clear your mind of any prior ugliness in the script.
The are many problems in that area. When first accompanying the Vikings, Fadlan learns their language by simply `watching them talk' (yeah, sure....) There are plenty of these moments that you could speculate about, or you could simply enjoy all of the bloody combat and beheadings for what they are: a fun time at the movies. McTiernan also manages to turn a weak script into a sumptuous epic, creating a believable situation efficiently enough so that we don't ask any questions. Don't look for The 13th Warrior to be among the nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay award at next year's Oscars; the action scenes and impressive sword tactics are the real show here.
Another thing I liked was the surprising range of the supporting cast. You may think the other 12 Viking warriors would be dismissed as window dressing, with lines like `Kill them all!' popping up occasionally. A few of these characters actually show some depth; among them is Herger (Dennis Storhoi), who cracks some amusing jokes and calls Fadlan `little brother'. And then there's the Viking leader (Vladimir Kulich), who displays more personality traits than his character limitations could have allowed, even if he still is basically a big lug. Omar Sharif is welcome as Fadlan's translator and guide when he first encounters the Vikings, with a few brief but memorable early moments on screen.
The summer of 1999 hasn't been a memorable one, at least in the movie department. The 13th Warrior is an exhilarating little adventure that has more quality than you might expect, even with a pea-brained plot and individual scenes of ridiculousness. For action fans craving some carnage that the season failed to present, this one may just hit the spot.
(C) 1999, Jamey Hughton
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